Shock Wave Effects in Copper: design of an experimental device for post recovery mechanical testing

The mechanical behavior of metals may prove high changes with strain rate and pressure loading history. In order to investigate the effect of a shock on the ulterior mechanical behavior of high purity copper, we set up an experimental device inspired from G. T. Gray III’s works. This device, based on the trapping of shock waves after a plane plate impact is validated by numerical simulations. The aim of these simulations is the evaluation of the heterogeneity of plastic deformation. Shock pressures up to 10 GPa have been investigated. The plastic strain levels subsequent to the shock are between 0.08 and 0.15 in the sample.